1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method of accounting and reporting network traffic information on mobile nodes within an ad-hoc network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for implementing continuous accounting of network traffic information on individual mobile nodes and providing a sparse matrix method for compaction of collected data for periodic transmission to the core network when accessible.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a type of mobile communications network known as an “ad-hoc” network has been developed to address the needs of multiple mobile device communication beyond traditional infrastructure coverage. In this type of network, each user terminal (hereinafter “mobile node”) is capable of operating as a base station or router for other mobile nodes within the network, thus eliminating the need for a fixed infrastructure of base stations. Accordingly, data packets being sent from a source mobile node to a destination mobile node are typically routed through a number of intermediate mobile nodes before reaching the destination node.
More sophisticated ad-hoc networks are also being developed which, in addition to enabling mobile nodes to communicate with each other as in conventional ad-hoc networks, further enable the mobile nodes to access fixed networks and communicate with other types of user terminals, such as those on the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the Internet. Details of these advanced types of ad-hoc networks are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,072,650 entitled “Ad Hoc Peer-to-Peer Mobile Radio Access System Interfaced to the PSTN and Cellular Networks”, issued on Jul. 4, 2006, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,165 entitled “Time Division Protocol for an Ad-Hoc, Peer-to-Peer Radio Network Having Coordinating Channel Access to Shared Parallel Data Channels with Separate Reservation Channel”, issued on Oct. 19, 2004, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,839 entitled “Prioritized-Routing for an Ad-Hoc, Peer-to-Peer, Mobile Radio Access System”, issued on Mar. 29, 2005, the entire content of each being incorporated herein by reference.
Generally, all nodes in a wireless ad-hoc peer-to-peer network provide similar services and functionality. Therefore, peer-to-peer networks distinguish themselves from traditional infrastructure networks, where one or more nodes offer a superset of the functionality of the rest of the network. In traditional networks, nodes seek out infrastructure nodes to provide services individual nodes are unable to perform. These infrastructure nodes are normally discovered by broadcast traffic advertisements from their client nodes in a network. Infrastructure nodes in traditional networks typically perform. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), as well as other services that depend on broadcast traffic. Services such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, defined by IETF RFC 2131 and 2132, the entire content of each being incorporated herein by reference, are used by a node to automatically obtain network settings from a central server, including the node's IP address, the address of Domain Name Servers (DNS), the IP address of default gateways, and many other network settings. Additional services, such as Address Resolution Protocol, defined by STD 0037 and RFC 0826, the entire content of each being incorporated herein by reference, are used by network nodes to map IP addresses to MAC addresses so that IP traffic can be delivered to specific hardware.
Peer-to-peer networks typically do not contain specialized infrastructure nodes. Therefore, as a result of the limited infrastructure dependence in an ad-hoc network, each wireless node is tasked with greater individual functions. However, the execution of wider functions at an individual node requires several advancements at the node level. For instance, in a resource-limited mobile ad-hoc network where there are no specialized infrastructure nodes for managing task activity accounting, there may be insufficient means to collect usage data from the mobile nodes in the network. Such data may include the number of data packets sent, packets received or packets routed by a mobile node. This information may be used in network capacity determinations, as well as usage billing reports for individual nodes. As this information is generated by mobile nodes, but processed at core network elements, collecting and transmitting such data in a wireless ad-hoc network requires that the mobility of the nodes be taken into account.
Attempts to direct individual mobile nodes to collect and provide usage information face difficulties resulting from the fact that mobile devices in the ad-hoc network may spend considerable time beyond the communication range of the core network elements where accounting processing functions are performed in typical systems. The intermittent nature of ad-hoc connections resulting from mobile devices creates a need for a method and system to perform accounting of network traffic on individual subscriber nodes during all periods, including periods when the nodes are beyond the range of the core network and the traditional accounting services provided. However, collection and maintenance of usage data at the subscriber node must use minimal overhead resources so as not to burden the network, or the node, with the accounting task.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for continuous accounting on individual mobile nodes, using a method for compaction of the accounting data when forwarding the collected information to the core network, such that impact on overhead resources is minimal.